TRACKING DOWN CONTRABAND JUST A GAME FOR SPECIALLY TRAINED DETECTOR DOGS

Customs Agency Marks 25 Years Of Canine Service

Sniffing out illicit drugs and guns is all in a day's work for Hershey,
southern Alberta's own specially trained customs detector dog. But is it
work at all to the chocolate-brown Labrador retriever?

Not really, according to Gordon Luchia, spokesman for the Canada Customs
and Revenue Agency, who says although smuggler sniffing is a serious
business to us humans, it's just a game for the pooches that do it.

For example, Hershey's reward for a successful contraband detection is the
chance to chase down a favourite rubber chew toy.

"It's great fun for them, but it's a valuable service for us," Luchia says.
"That's really all this is to them -- it's play."

Hershey and handler Doug Smith are deployed at various times at each of the
six Alberta-Montana border crossings as well as at the Lethbridge airport.

Together they're one of three customs dog teams in Alberta. The other two
split their time between Calgary and Edmonton, often working at the
respective cities' international airports.

The customs agency recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of its detector
dog service. Launched in 1978 in Windsor, Ont. as a pilot project with
three dogs, the service now has 46 detector dog teams stationed across
Canada. Teams work wherever people and goods enter the country.

This year alone, the dogs have aided Canadian customs inspectors in more
than 500 drug and firearms seizures worth a total of $125 million.

Lab retrievers are the preferred breed for the job, Luchia says, because
"they're a strong breed able to work (long hours) but also a gentle breed
able to work among passengers."

When the program started, dogs were trained to be active detectors,
signalling by digging, biting or barking whenever they smelled drugs or
firearms. Today many dogs, including Hershey, are trained as passive
detectors that indicate by simply sitting beside the source of a contraband
scent, even if it's a person.

In such cases, Luchia says, smugglers may unwittingly think the dog is just
being friendly when it sits beside them.

"Little do they know he's indicating the possible presence of drugs."

Detector dogs make quick work of examining luggage, passengers and
commercial shipments in a manner that's not intrusive. Dog teams also help
other law enforcement agencies in Canada and the U.S. in executing search
warrants for drugs and guns.